Printing plate shaving machine



p 1954 L. c. HAMMOND ETAL 2,688,275

PRINTING PLATE SHAVING MACHINE Filed May 51, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 /NVE/Y 70R6. l ea 6. flaw/21001 Pom/d 15. Ju/fa/v Adria/7 4. mJe/Amde[dud/"0 C (ree er ATTORNEY,

P 7, 1954 L. c. HAMMOND ETAL 2,633,275

PRINTING PLATE SHAVING MACHINE Filed May 51, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2ATTORNEY P 7, 1954 L. HAMMOND ETAL 2,683,275

PRINTING PLATE SHAVING MACHINE Filed May 51, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 7, 1954 aris PRINTING PLATE SHAVING MACHINE Lee 0.Hammond, Donald E. Sutton, and Adrian L. Vander Linde, Kalamazoo, andEdward C. Krueger, Otsego, Mich., assignors to Hammond MachineryBuilders, Inc., Kalamazoo,

Mich.

Application May 31, 1951, Serial No. 229,134

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a printing plate shavingmachine for large and small plates.

The principal objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a machine for shaving the backs of printing plateswhich may vary in size from large full page newspaper plates to smallinsert plates commonly referred to as thumb nail plates.

Second, to provide a plate shaving machine with hold-down elements whichwill prevent the tilting or cocking of small plate inserts as they arepassed underneath the shaving knife.

Third, to provide a shaving machine with a holder for small plateinserts that will advance one or more inserts against the shaving knifein the same manner that full page plates are advanced and shaved.

Fourth, to provide a hold-down shoe for a plate shaving machine that ismovable to operative position closely adjacent the front edge of theknife to hold down small plates and to raised inoperative position whenthe machine is used to shave large page plates.

Fifth, to provide a shaving machine with a plate hold-down roller thatis connected to a cutout switch to automatically stop the machine incase a deformed plate is attempted to be forced through the machine.

Sixth, to provide a holder in the form of a fiat plate that can besupported on the table of a shaving machine to simultaneously advance aplurality of small plate inserts through the machine.

Other objects and advantages relating to our invention will be apparentfrom a consideration of the following description and claims, thedrawings of which there are three sheets illustrate a practical andpreferred form of our invention.

Fig. l is a perspective view of our machine with the small plate holderand a plurality of small plate inserts in position thereon.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the cross head of themachine and the front hold-down roller, the view being partially insection along the plane of the line 2-2 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal cross sectional view through the crosshead and table of the machine taken along the planes of the broken line3--3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary plan view of the small plate holder.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross sectional view showingthe small plate holder and a plurality of small plate inserts thereinop- 2 eratively associated with the small plate holddown and blade ofthe shaver.

The machine in which our invention is incorporated includes a suitablebase i on which a generally rectangular body 2 is supported. The body isshaped and constructed to provide slideways 3 which may be considered asextending longitudinally from end to end of the body. Slidably mountedin the ways 3 is a table 4, the table having V-shaped ways 5 formedalong its side edges to coact with the ways 3. Desirably ball bearingsnot illustrated interconnect the ways 3 and 5. Columns 6 projectingvertically upwardly from each side of the ways 3 support a cross head Iwhich is vertically adjustable on the columns by the manipulation of ahand wheel 8 and associated adjusting mechanisms which form no part ofthe present invention. The cross head i carries a transversely extendingknife 53 (see Fig. 3) having a hardened cutting edge It on its lowerfront side which is thus adapted to be present at different elevationstransversely to the path of travel of the table 4. The knife extendedtransversely along the cross head I at least across the full width ofthe table A. The left end of the table 4 is provided with a stop bar orabutment H projecting above the surface of the table to engage the edgeof a printing plate and force the plate into shaving engagement with theknife 9 as the table is advanced to the right by driving means enclosedin the machine.

The ends of the crosshead l are provided with vertically adjustabledepending posts H2 at each end of the head and these posts serve assupports for a front holddown shaft l3. Intermediate of its ends, theshaft [3 extends through the lower bifurcated ends of a fork member Itas is most particularly illustrated in Fig. 2. Bushings I5 pressed intoa short center roller It and the ends of the two long side rollers 17rotatably. support the rollers on the shaft. Toward the ends of theshaft 13 there are provided a pair of arms 88 and I!) which arenon-rotatably secured to the shaft 13 by pins 20. Short end rollers 2iextend between the arms l8 and it and the posts 52. The function of thearms l8 and ill will be described presently.

The head l is of heavy chambered construction having a bottom wall 22.The upper end or stem of the fork member it projects slidably upwardlythrough the wall 22 as at 23 to act as a tappet for actuating a lever 24pivotally supported at 25. The opposite end of the lever is positionedto actuate an electric switch 26 of the small movement type and theswitch is connected by well known means in the power circuit of themachine to interrupt the operation of the shaver when excessive pressureon the middle of the hold-down rollers deflects the shaft [3 and thefork member 14 upwardly. A compression spring 2'! is adjustablycompressed between the wall 22 and the top of the bifurcated head of thefork member l4 to determine the pressure required to actuate the switch26.

With particular reference to Fig. 3 it will be noted that the hold-downshaft I3 is spaced substantially in front of the blade l9 and that thearm 19 has a wedge-like rearward projection 28 which extends beyond thecontour or circumference of the rolls I1 and 2|. The left arm I8 has asimilar rearward projection. Fixedly connected between the projectionson the arms I8 and I9 and extending transversely across the tabletherebetween is a wedge shaped hold-down shoe 29, the lower edge ofwhich is parallel and tangent to the lower edge of the hold-down rollerswhen the arms l8 and [9 are upright. The rear edge of the hold-down shoe29 extends to closely adjacent to the front edge of the knife 9. In thisposition of the hold-down shoe 29 small insert printing plates which areadvanced by the table 4 underneath the front holddown rollers will haveno opportunity to tilt upwardly and cock as their leading edges pass outfrom underneath the front hold-down rolls so that the inserts will beproperly and accurately advanced against the cutting edge if! of theknife. The arms 18 and I9 and the hold-down shoe 29 are adjustably heldin relation to the head 1 by means of a crank arm 30 secured to a rockshaft 3|. The shaft 3! is horizontally pivotally supported in a bearingbracket 32 bolted to the front side of the right end of the head I. Apin 33 carried on the swinging end of the arm 30 engages a slot 34 inthe right arm [9 on the hold-down shaft to rock the arm I9 and holddownshoe 29 between the operative position shown in full lines and theinoperative position in dotted lines in Fig. 3. A shim 35 positionedbetween the vertical surface of the head and the bearing bracket 32permits the shaft 3| and pin 33 to be adjusted relative to the head sothat the under surface of the shoe 29 is horizontal in the operativeposition of the arms and rock shaft.

A hand operative lever 36 is provided for actuating the rock shaft, anddesirably spring pressed detent stops 3! are provided between the arm 39and the bearing bracket 32 to locate the arm and operating lever intheir two adjusting positions.

Coacting with the hold-down shoe 29 in holding the small plate insertsin correct position relative to the knife 9 is a rear hold-down shoe 38which is clamped between the blade 9 and the cross head behind thecutting edge Ill. The rear hold-down shoe 38 is adjusted until its loweredge is parallel to and slightly above the cutting edge of the knife sothat after a small plate insert has passed underneath the cutting edgeand been shaved to the proper thickness, it will be held down by theshoe 38 and prevented from tilting upwardly at its leading edge due topressure of the cutting edge of the knife on the trailing portion of theinsert. Rear hold-down rollers 39 are carried by the head I behind theshoe 38 to further hold the newly shaved plates against the table and inproper flat position with respect to the cutting edge of the knife. Theshoe 29, rear shoe 38 and rear hold down rollers 39 being carried by thecross head 1 are all vertically adjustable with respect to the work andare 4 fixed relative to the blade 9 so that the plates being shaved,large or small, are properly oriented with respect to the blade.

In order to effectively utilize the ability of the machine to advancesmall plate inserts underneath the knife 9 we have provided a smallplate holder in the form of a flat sheet 49 of relatively stiff rigidmetal such as steel. The plate 40 is provided with a forwardly beveledtrailing edge 4| which coacts with the stop bar I I on the table toadvance the sheet with the table. The body of the sheet is apertured orslotted in a plurality of obliquely arranged slots 42 desirably arrangedin forwardly converging pairs as illustrated. The rear corners of theslots 42 are formed as circular holes 43 embracing the intersection ofthe side edges of the slots so that accurately rectangular small plateinserts 44 can be snugly and accurately seated in the trailing cornersof the slots. The sheet 49 is thinner than the thinnest printing plateto be shaved on the machine so that the small plate inserts projectupwardly above the surface of the sheet as is best illustrated in Fig.5. In this position the small plate inserts with their irregularprinting surfaces 45 facing downwardly will advance with the table andsheet underneath the hold-down shoe 29 and against the cutting edge ofthe knife to shave the inserts to uniform thickness. As previouslydescribed, the hold-down shoes 29 and 38 will prevent the inserts fromcocking while the oblique arrangement of the slots 42 prevents theinserts from moving horizontally in the sheet 49. So long as theadjacent sides of the inserts are squared, additional inserts can befitted into the slots 42 like blocks so that a great many of the insertscan be shaved to the same thickness by one single pass of the table andsheet underneath the shaving blade 9. A large rectangular hold downframe is shown pivoted to the back side of the body 2 in Fig. 1. This isadapted to be clamped down over the path of the table 4 and a platebeing advanced thereby to the knife to prevent the plate from buckling.No novelty is claimed in the hold down frame so its construction is notdescribed in detail.

Should one or more of the small plate inserts be abnormally thick itwill deflect the front holddown rollers and shaft sufficiently toactuate the switch 26 as previously described to prevent damage to themachine or to the inserts. The protective function of the switch 26 isequally ef fective when shaving large page size plates on the machine.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a printing plate shaving machine having a translatable table witha vertically adjustable head extending transversely across the path ofsaid table, the'combination of ashaving knife carried by said head tocoact with printing plates on said table, a transversely extending shaftsupported at its ends from said head in parallel relationship in frontof said knife, a support for the center of said shaft extending slidablyinto said head, a spring biasing said support downwardly, an electricalswitch connected to control the operation of said machine and positionedin said head to be opened by predetermined upward movement of saidsupport, a longitudinally sectional front hold-down roller rotatablymounted on said shaft and having its lower edge at approximately thesame level as the edge of said knife, arms non-rotatably secured to saidshaft accepts and projecting thereabove, a front hold-down shoe of wedgeshaped cross section supported by and extending transversely betweensaid arms across said table and between the periphery of said roller andsaid knife, crank means mounted on said head and connected to one ofsaid arms to swing said shoe into operative position with its lowersurface lying approximately in the plane of the bottom of said rollerand the edge of said knife, a plate-like rear hold-down shoe clampedbetween the lower portion of said knife and said head behind said knifeand with its lower edge approximately level with the cutting edge ofsaid knife, and a small plate holding sheet adapted to be supported andadvanced by said table in clearing relation underneath said knife andsaid shoes, said sheet having a plurality of rectan ularly squaredobliquely arranged slots formed therein in forwardly converging pairs toreceive and hold small plate inserts, the rear corners of said slotsbeing outwardly rounded to embrace the intersections of the rear edgelines of the slots.

2. In a printing plate shaving machine having a translatable table witha vertically adjustable head extending transversely across the path ofsaid table, the combination of a shaving knife carried by said head tocoact with printing plates on said table, a transversely extending shaftsupported at its ends from said head in parallel relationship in frontof said knife, a support for the center of said shaft extending slidablyinto said head, a spring biasing said support downwardly, an electricalswitch connected to control the operation of said machine and positionedin said head to be opened by predetermined upward movement of saidsupport, a longitudinally sectional front hold-down roller rotatablymounted on said shaft and having its lower edge at approximately thesame level as the edge of said knife, arms pivotally supported by saidshaft and projecting thereabove, a front hold-down shoe supported by andextending transversely between said arms across said table and betweenthe periphery of said roller and said knife, crank means mounted on saidhead and connected to one of said arms to swing said shoe into operativeposition with its lower surface lying approximately in the plane of thebottom of said roller and the edge of said knife, and a plate-like rearhold-down shoe clamped between the lower por tion of said knife and saidhead behind said knife and with its lower edge approximately level withthe cutting edge of said knife.

3. In a printing plate shaving machine having a translatable table witha vertically adjustable head extending transversely across the path ofsaid table, the combination of a shaving knife carried by said head tocoact with printing plates on said table, a transversely extending shaftsupported at its ends from said head in parallel relationship in frontof said knife, a front holddown roller rotatably mounted on said shaftand having its lower edge at approximately the same level as the edge ofsaid knife, arms pivotally supported by said shaft and projectingthereabove, a front hold-down shoe supported by and extendingtransversely between said arms and between the periphery of said rollerand said knife, crank means mounted on said head and connected to one ofsaid arms to swing said shoe into operative position with its lowersurface lying approximately in the plane of the bottom of said rollerand the edge of said knife, and a small plate holding sheet adapted tobe supported 6 and advanced by said table in clearing relationunderneath said knife and said shoe, said sheet having a rectangularlysquared obliquely arranged slot formed therein to receive and hold smallplate inserts.

4. A crosshead for a printing plate shaving machine comprising, endupright portions, a knife abutment extending between said end portionsand disposed toward the rear of said end portions, a shaving knifeadjustably secured to said abutment with its lower cutting edge disposedforwardly, a plate-like rear hold-down shoe clamped between said knifeand said abutment with. its lower edge approximately level with thecutting edge of said knife, a shaft extending between said end portionsforwardly of said knife, arms pivotally supported by said shaft towardeach end thereof, a front hold-down shoe of wedge shaped cross sectionextending transversely between said arms and swingable therewith tolocate its under surface approximately level with the cutting edge ofsaid knife and closely adjacent thereto, lever means carried by one ofsaid end portions for tilting one of said arms on said shaft, and fronthold-down rollers rotatably mounted on said shaft between said arms withthe periphery of the rollers approximately tangent to the plane of thelower face of said front hold-down shoe.

5. A crosshead for a printing plate shaving machine comprising, endupright portions, a knife abutment extending between said end portionsand disposed toward the rear of said end portions, a shaving knifeadjustably secured to said abutment with its lower cutting edge disposedforwardly, a shaft extending between said end portions forwardly of saidknife, arms pivotally supported by said shaft toward each end thereof, afront hold-down shoe extending transversely between said arms andswingable therewith to locate its under surface approximately level withthe cutting edge of said knife and closely adjacent thereto, lever meanscarried by one of said end portions for tilting one of said arms on saidshaft, and front hold-down rollers rotatably mounted on said shaftbetween said arms with the periphery of the rollers approximatelytangent to the plane of the lower face of said front hold-down shoe.

6. A crosshead for a printing plate shaving machine comprising, endupright portions, a knife abutment extending between said end portionsand disposed toward the rear of said end portions, a shaving knifesecured to said abutment with its lower cutting edge disposed forwardly,a platelike rear hold-down shoe clamped between said knife and saidabutment with its lower edge approximately level with the cutting edgeof said knife, a shaft extending between said end portions forwardly ofsaid knife, arms pivotally supported by said shaft toward each endthereof, a front hold-down shoe extending transversely between said armsand swingable therewith to locate its under surface approximately levelwith the cutting edge of said knife and closely adjacent thereto, andlever means carried by one of said end portions for tilting one of saidarms on said shaft.

'7. A crosshead for a printing plate shaving machine comprising, endupright portions, a knife abutment extending between said end portionsand disposed toward the rear of said end portions, a shaving knifesecured to said abutment with its lower cutting edge disposed forwardly,a shaft extending between said end portions forwardly of said knife,arms pivotally supported by said shaft toward each end thereof, a frontholddown shoe extending transversely between said arms and swingabletherewith to locate its under surface approximately level with thecutting edge of said knife and closely adjacent thereto, and lever meanscarried by one of said end portions for tilting one of said arms on saidshaft.

8. A crosshead for a printing plate shaving machine comprising, endupright portions, a knife abutment extending between said end portionsand disposed toward the rear of said end portions, a shaving knifesecured to said abutment with its lower cutting edge disposed forwardly,a rear hold-down shoe clamped between said knife and said abutment withits lower edge approximately level with the cutting edge of said knife,means for removably supporting a front hold-down shoe transverselybetween said end portions with its under surface approximately levelwith the cutting edge of said knife and 8 closely adjacent thereto, anda front hold-down roller rotatably mounted between said end portionswith the periphery of the roller approximately tangent to the plane ofthe lower face of said front hold-down shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,054,130 McKee Feb. 25, 1913 1,139,593 Spurgeon May 18, 19151,471,333 Herr Oct. 23, 1923 1,933,792 Dalton Nov. 7, 1933 2,082,882Garnero June 8, 1937 2,172,745 Witte Sept. 12, 1939 2,398,906 McCainApr. 23, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 481,312 Germany Aug.17, 1929

